Zhou Rong shook his head painfully, his face looking utterly helpless: “If it weren’t for the Guo surname in her belly, we would have charged into the military region long ago. Why would we be stuck in this fertilizer factory!”
Feng Wentai finally understood.
“You understand. We have no choice. But fortunately, the leaders can send a helicopter. As long as everyone holds on until we return from the military region, the helicopter will pick everyone up, and everyone will be safe,” Zhou Rong patted Feng Wentai’s arm and laughed, “Brother Feng, you’ve worked hard, and naturally…”
“I understand, we’re all comrades. Brother Zhou, no need to be formal,” Feng Wentai pondered for a moment, then sincerely said, “Thank you for rescuing us last night. Your little brother suffered, and that’s my fault.”
He waved to the bodyguard waiting at the factory door, saying, “Call Lu Hui over.”
Lu Hui was the bespectacled man with a large bruise on his throat, caused by Zhou Rong’s elbow against the wall the previous night.
“I must have this incompetent subordinate apologize to that young brother,” Feng Wentai said with utmost sincerity, “This incident was extremely serious and must serve as a warning. Please understand, Brother Zhou…
Zhou Rong once again failed to meet everyone’s expectations. He reluctantly turned back and called out, “Si Nan!”
Si Nan turned his head from beside the armored vehicle. Zhou Rong saw that Si Nan wasn’t holding any bottle, so he waved and said, “Come here!”
Si Nan was obedient in front of others. He walked over slowly, and when he got close, Zhou Rong saw a small dried pink sugar stain at the corner of his lips.
Zhou Rong grabbed him without explanation and rubbed his thumb heavily twice.
Si Nan turned his head forcefully to avoid him, giving him a cold glance.
— That gaze was so chilling that Zhou Rong instantly remembered the time in T City when Si Nan rode a motorcycle out of a sea of corpses, with the cold and sharp look from under his helmet, exactly the same as now.
The little person in Zhou Rong’s heart immediately surrendered.
“This is the one who pulled you last night,” Zhou Rong said, hugging Si Nan and coaxing, “He wants to apologize to you in person, look, that’s why he brought you here.”
Lu Hui, tall and with a gloomy face, seemed reluctant to move. After being glared at by Feng Wentai, he knelt on one leg, and soon knelt on the other leg.
“It was an accident last night,” he said hoarsely, “Sorry, brother, don’t mind.”
Si Nan stood silently, expressionless, saying nothing.
Feng Wentai’s eyes moved slightly, and he coughed to cover up: “This young man of Captain Zhou is truly… extraordinary in skill, and handsome.”
He then turned and scolded his subordinate: “You bastard! Kneeling straight, who are you showing this to? Kowtow!”
Lu Hui suppressed his anger and lowered his head. But as soon as he bent down, his shoulder was stepped on by a shoe.
Si Nan kicked with one foot. The tremendous force made this Alpha stumble and roll backward instantly!
Then, under Feng Wentai’s gaze, he withdrew his foot, wiped the sugar stain from the corner of his mouth, and walked away silently.
“Oh right,” he said: “That day, Director Feng made Lu Hui kneel and apologize, and as a result, Lu Hui was kicked by that little boy in public. He’s been holding a grudge and looking to cause trouble.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. It’s embarrassing. One of these days, when no one’s around, I’ll teach that little boy a lesson…”
“What, you want to go through the back door?”
The two laughed, and their footsteps gradually faded away.
Wu Xinyan’s face turned pale, trembling as she glanced to her side. She saw Sinan’s brow furrowed tightly, pupils narrowed, with a sharp look at the corners of his eyes.
“We…”
Before she could finish, Sinan raised a finger in a stop gesture and pulled her out of the factory building.
“Here’s the car key. If anything goes wrong, evacuate everyone, and backup supplies are already placed in the van. Could you please take care of that pregnant woman? We’ll be back from the military area in a week at most…”
Zhou Rong was carefully explaining things to Dr.
Zheng when Sinan suddenly pushed open the door, pulling a breathless Wu Xinyan who was running alongside him. Without saying anything, he directly pulled out the still-warm Type 64 pistol from Zhou Rong’s waist.
“Hey!” Zhou Rong roared: “What are you doing? Come back!”
Sinan indeed turned back, reached into Zhou Rong’s trouser pocket, and pulled out a large bunch of warehouse keys, then walked out again.
Fortunately, Zhou Rong grabbed his wrist in time: “What’s going on? Are you going to rob someone?”
Sinan coldly said: “Don’t worry about it. It’s none of your business.”
He broke free from Zhou Rong’s restraint and pulled Wu Xinyan away, heading straight toward the garage.
Zhou Rong chased out two steps, wanting to yell at him, but looking at Wu Xinyan’s stumbling back, he suddenly seemed to realize something and fell silent.
He stood there for a while, his throat seemingly blocked by something hard, unable to swallow or spit it out. After a while, he pinched his brow forcefully, using the pain to cover something up, and turned back with a laugh: “Excuse me for the scene.”
Dr. Zheng wanted to speak but held back, nodding in understanding.
“Get in the car,” Sinan said.
Wu Xinyan climbed into the high driver’s seat of the biochemical armored vehicle with hands and feet, asking nervously: “Where are we going?”
Sinan slammed the door shut and started the car, saying: “Nowhere.”
The biochemical vehicle left the garage, turned a circle in the open space, and drove towards the rarely visited anhydrous ammonia processing workshop. After bumping along the gravel road for several minutes, it finally stopped in front of an old brick building.
“I discovered this place last week when clearing zombies,” Sinan jumped down from the car and asked: “How long has he been harassing you?”
Wu Xinyan was shaking: “Just a few days after those people arrived…”
This was a cargo truck waste transport garage, surrounded by a foul ammonia smell. The green iron warehouse door was rusty, seemingly abandoned for a long time. Sinan stepped on a trash can, climbed in through the dusty rear window, then opened the front door, signaling Wu Xinyan to come in.
“The garage door is battery-controlled, the switch is here. It’s not very clean, but it’ll be fine after cleaning up. It can be lived in.”
Wu Xinyan hugged her arms, looking around with fear and curiosity.
The garage walls had large water-stained marks, corners piled with miscellaneous items, and dust covered the floor. Sinan unloaded two boxes of mineral water, instant noodles, blankets, and bedding from the biochemical vehicle, then pulled out the Type 64 pistol and placed it in Wu Xinyan’s hands:
“After we leave, if anything happens, bring your pregnant friend and hide here.”
Wu Xinyan’s breath almost stopped, feeling like she was holding a hot coal. “I, I, I can’t shoot…”
Sinan moved behind her, patted her arm, and helped her hold the gun, aiming at the sky and firing: “Bang!”
The recoil pushed Wu Xinyan off balance, the shell casing falling with a ding. Sinan encouraged, “Now you can.”
Wu Xinyan’s mind went blank, utterly confused, and after a long while, she nodded forcefully with trembling lips.
“Don’t tell anyone about this place, including your pregnant friend,” Sinan said while driving back, staring at the bumpy gravel road. “Avoid direct confrontation with those people these days. I’ll prepare some supplies for you before leaving.”
Wu Xinyan turned her head. Sinan’s long, curled eyelashes were lowered, his gaze always silent and focused.
“You…” Wu Xinyan started, her voice like a thread: “Aren’t you afraid of them?”
“No.”
